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SEAFORD MUSEUM

Martello Magazine

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

A Busy Place in WW1

How Tower Can Get a Lift From Prosperity to Ruin Town’s Old Characters

Spring 2014

Seaford Museum and Heritage Society

Back to days of steam. Town’s 150th railway anniversary—see page 4

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THE CHAIRMAN’S PAGE

Probe into lease delay Dear Fellow Members,

THIS magazine comes to you along with the annual report, notice of the Annual General Meeting, a request for nominations for the committee, and booking forms for the July outing, etc. It is a great deal of information to wish on you all at once but I hope you can take the time to read everything that we are sending to you. I will try to keep my contribution brief! As you will know from the previous newsletter, and from the Press, we are continuing to have problems with renewing our lease. We have received a draft and returned it to Seaford Town Council with our comments and the matter is now under discussion. To take eight months (10 since our first request) to renew a lease seems inexplicable. And we have received neither

explanation, nor excuse, nor apology for the delay. There is an investigation being carried out now so we continue to hope that the

situation will be resolved. On a sad note we have to report the death of one of our life members, Rene King, who had been a worker and supporter of the museum since its early days. There is a short obituary on page 15. On a happier note I am glad to be able to report that the tower survived the recent storms remarkably well. It is damp inside but no worse than it has been on other occasions and there were no new or very worrying problems. We were grateful to David Swaysland, who kept an eye on the tower and sent a weather/damage report to the rest of the committee after each high tide. We were also grateful to those intrepid enough to attend the lecture on what was possibly the worst afternoon of the

Tower survives

storm battering

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week. The new shape of the beach and beautiful weather brought in a record number of winter visitors to the museum on the Sunday after the storm so some clouds have a silver lining. After a stormy start we hope that we shall be able to move forward in 2014 with a renewed lease and renewed energy to carry out all our projects. The committee members are looking forward to seeing as many as possible of you at the AGM when we may have better news and will be bringing you up to date on progress.

A WOMAN medical pioneer, Dr Janet Lane-Claypon, who moved to Seaford after her marriage in 1929, developed a method of

mass epidemiological research known as “case-control study”. It involved questioning hundreds of people to find out the causes of particular diseases. Neville Chamberlain, as Minister of Health in 1923, commissioned her to investigate the causes of breast cancer. This was some of the first work to be undertaken on the subject and she identified that women were more susceptible to the disease if they remained childless or did not breastfeed. She also established that early diagnosis and treatment was the main key to survival. Many of her findings are still being used today. Dr Lane-Claypon married Sir Edward Rodolph Forber, who was then the Deputy Secretary of Health. They lived in “The White House”, at the junction of Claremont Road and Belgrave Road. After Sir Edward retired the couple moved into the Manor House at Bishopstone. Dr Lane-Claypon was awarded her science doctorate in 1905 and was the first woman to receive a scholarship from the British Medical Association. She obtained a further scholarship in 1910 with the Lister Institute for Preventative Medicine. She died aged 90 and is buried in Bishopstone churchyard. In 2004 a review of her important work appeared in the American Journal of Epidemiology. - KG

FIRST WOMAN

BACKED BY BMA

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AN EVENT that did much to create the character of today’s Seaford occurred 150 years ago, on June1 1864. With much rejoicing and displays of bunting, that was the day a branch line from Newhaven to Seaford was completed and the railway arrived in the heart of the town. Everyone was invited to travel free on the line that day. W R Wynter, recording the occasion in his book Old Seaford, wrote: “This was a great day for Seaford and the whole town kept holiday in celebration of the event. Flags were flying at Newhaven and Seaford, and the first train, gaily decorated with flags and bunting, arrived at Seaford about mid-day, bringing several officials of the Brighton Company [a reference to the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company (LBSCR)]. “The bells of the old parish church rang merry peals at intervals for the greater part of the day. The Newhaven steamboat, the Orleans, as she passed by Seaford, gave a salute in honour of the event. “In the afternoon the officials and several of the leading inhabitants of the town dined together at the New Inn. Various toasts were given, and the rest of the day was given up to amusements, etc., the whole proceedings passing off admirably.” The lead-up to the railway’s arrival in Seaford is examined in another document in the museum’s archives. It points out that plans for the connection from Newhaven were deposited as early as 1845, but there was little demand for its construction.

150 YEARS UP THE LINE

Seaford’s Railway

History is the subject

of this year’s Special

Exhibition at the

Museum. There will be

an official opening on

Saturday March 29.

The exhibition will

remain open to the end

of the year.

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Seaford station in 1922—depicted as a working model in the museum (above) and (right) the fares at around that time. A quarterly ticket, £6 5s 3rd class, is now about £l,250.

Seaford at that time, before the promenade was built, was little more than a church with a cluster of fishing cottages edging the tide-line in the natural bay. Though Brighton had become a recognised ‘watering place’ the boom in seaside holidays had yet to come and Seaford showed little interest in the railway for another 15 years. Then, people with land to sell – seeing the railway company as a potential buyer – began stirring up demand for a rail connection. Further plans were deposited in 1860 and 1861 after the LBSCR had made it clear that they would go ahead and

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build a new line ‘from Newhaven Wharf Station to a point 80 yards from the Parish Church at Seaford.’ There was clearly, by this time, a demand for a connection to the outside world for in January 1862 the running of a ‘first class omnibus’ to connect with most trains at Newhaven was

announced. Work on the new line began in March 14, 1863, in the Dannfield (now the site of the station) and at Bishopstone. More than 200 men

were employed to dig the cutting through Hawth Hill and the complete project cost about £24,000. Thus the railway marked out Seaford’s future. Not as an important seaside resort, as envisaged by its early-day advocates, but for many years as an end-of-the-line haven for private schools and nursing homes. Now we know it as a convenient commuter zone—and a comfortable and healthy place in which to live. - Ron Vince

________________________________________

How Seaford station looked in 1870, six years after it opened - a contemporary print, from the museum archives

End-of-the-line

seaside haven

THE first written evidence of Seaford comes from the Saxon occupation in

the fifth century when Sefordt was mentioned in early chronicles inferring a ford near the sea or perhaps a fiord of the sea. Extract from ‘Bygone Seaford’ by John Adams

SAXON EVIDENCE

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AUGUST 4 this year marks the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War of 1914-18; and the histories of the local railway line [pp 4-6] and the Great War are not unconnected. The line between Newhaven and Seaford, small as it is, played an important part in moving troops and supplies for the allied forces fighting on the other side of the English Channel. Those war years were the busiest ever experienced on the Seaford line. The railway historian R W Kidner wrote that the demand for troop trains, ambulance and supply trains between Seaford and Newhaven Harbour, which was closed to the public

during the conflict, grew to such an extent that “paths” were hard to find at any time of the day or night. He recalled that “a fan of sidings” was laid out around Seaford station “mainly for stabling ammunition trains. At the height of the build-up for the 1918 offensive two trains were arriving every hour 24 hours a day.” Soon after the war began two large Army training camps were established in Seaford, one to the north of the town and the other to the south-east. At first, conditions in the camps were horrendous, the recruits living under canvas and in unfinished huts and slithering about in thick mud. Nor was that their only worry. In the

tense first months of the war, rumours of sabotage were rife and the men were warned to keep a look-out for German spies. A newspaper report of November 1914 recorded ‘Alarming Occurrences in Seaford’. It stated that the recruits had been having a very anxious

Seaford a hub for troops and

supplies in World War One

A recruiting poster depicts Chichester Cathedral under

an imagined bombardment

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time. Not only had they had a first taste of really rough weather, “the south-west gales playing havoc with the canvas”, but “the presence of alleged spies had also caused trouble”. Commenting on the devastating effects of the gales, the paper noted that “the manner in which the wind seemed to lift some of the tents gently and then dash them violently to the ground caused much surprise, as a considerable number of the Tommies have not seen anything like it before.” The spy menace, it was reported, had had to be contended with ever since the inauguration of the camps – “and even

before”. Shortly after troops claimed to have seen “two foreign-looking persons behaving in a suspicious manner” a fire caused considerable damage to the

camp stores. The investigating officers were “certainly of the opinion that the fire was no accident” and “came to the conclusion that the blaze was not unconnected with the suspicious persons seen near the camp.” Another incident was said to be “far more sinister and startling” when the soldiers discovered there had been a “daring attempt” to set fire to new hutments, several of which were occupied.

‘Suspicious persons’

blamed for blaze

The ‘skinny dippers’ of 1914. Recruits take a break from training for a massed bathe in the nude off Seaford beach

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“Plans for their destruction were well on their way to maturity when the plot was discovered and, it is understood, the alleged spy arrested.” Another newspaper report of about the same time comments on the great number of men being drilled in the countryside on the outskirts of Seaford, including “portions of the Seaford golf links.” “Already one can observe the great strides that have been effected. Squad drills have for the most part given way to rifle drills, signalling and bugle calling, and the men are so eager to learn that the progress made is remarkable.” During their off-duty time the troops had a YMCA recreation facility; they staged frequent boxing contests and

swam in the sea. They also kept Seaford’s shops busy. It was reported that the tobacconists, the confectioners, the Post Office and the stationers found it difficult at times to serve all their customers. Over the war years many thousands of men underwent their Army training in the Seaford North and South camps which, of course, were strategically close to Newhaven – the port from which the men embarked for the battlefields of France. The

recruits came from all over Britain and from Ireland, Canada and the West Indies. There were so many of them that houses and schools were requisitioned to take pressure off the camps’ accommodation. Seaford men were generally not trained in the town’s camps. Mostly, they joined the Southdown Battalions of the Royal Sussex Regiment – a pals’ regiment formed by Col. Claude Lowther of Herstmonceux Castle. This meant that they could fight alongside each other. They trained at Cooden and became known as ‘Lowthers Lambs’, with a Southdown sheep as mascot. On the last day of June 1916 Lowthers Lambs went ‘over the top’ at Richenbourg and 366 of them were killed. Another 750 were wounded.—RV

A permanent

display on

Seaford’s WW1

history can be

seen on the

wall in the

Tower

basement

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WALL

CAVITY

CAN

GIVE

MUSEUM

A LIFT

THE autumn issue of the Martello Magazine included a computer generated picture of the imposing new entrance to the museum which it is hoped to have in place in 2015. The fit and able will be able to walk across a bridge over the moat and enter the tower though its original doorway. But the improved access project also includes plans to provide a lift so that, for the first time, people with mobility problems will be able to share the delight of the museum’s wide-ranging displays and research documents. A lift? Where can a lift be installed without destroying the tower’s historic credentials and without infringing its listed status? The answer is shown in the drawing reproduced above. The lift, situated to the right of the present entrance, will be contained within an existing wall cavity. Clever? It’s just as well the walls were built wide enough – and that a previous, long-departed owner of the tower created the cavity!

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ONE THING led to another for Richard Steel (left) when, doing some family history research, he visited the museum to consult its archives. Now he’s a volunteer steward! Richard was following up a 1901 census

reference to an eight-year-old member of his family who was in a Seaford boarding school. He researched the school in the museum archives and discovered it was only a couple of hundred yards from where he lives. The volunteer archivists, who update the files on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, were very helpful, photocopying maps and possible photographs, Richard says. He adds: “Seeing the museum for the first time I was really impressed with the archives and the extensive exhibits. I signed up to become a member straight away.” A little later Richard volunteered to act as a steward on the days the museum opens to the public. Though he says he

experienced a sharp learning curve, he is now an enthusiastic member of the team. “I love my days at the

museum, particularly talking to the public,” he enthuses. “Being a former teacher I especially like to engage with children who visit, showing the train layout, demonstrating the old-fashioned mechanical cash transfer gadget in the Victorian shop or directing them to the Meccano display. Actually, quite a number of parents like those displays as well!” His biggest regret is not joining the museum much earlier. “It is a brilliant asset for the town, mostly well run and endlessly interesting. New things to see each time I go down there.”

☺More volunteers, whatever the skills offered, are welcome. Ed

Family tree yields

museum steward

A brilliant asset…

endlessly interesting

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A PREBEND is the share of revenue from a cathedral to its churches. Returns for 1291 show that Seaford’s church was being paid £4 a year while the prebend for the nearby Sutton church was £26. It appears therefore that, despite being small in size, the Sutton church, only a mile to the north, was the more important. The manor of Sutton merged with Seaford in 1509 and the town’s church then took the name Sutton Church. You will see from the sign that faces Church Street that St Leonard’s Church is in the parish of “Sutton with Seaford”. In the thirteenth century Seaford prospered. The port was not only exporting wool to the Continent but also sending building materials to Guernsey for the construction of Castle Cornet in St Peter Port. There would have been ship builders, wool merchants and other traders. Ships returning from France would have brought in wine, spices and lace. One of the wool merchants decorated his working cellar with carved vine-leaves, which can still be seen in the ‘Crypt’ In 1298 the town returned its first two Members of Parliament, William Hobey and Geoffrey Cuckoo. (They attended parliament in York). Three years later, in 1301, Edward I granted the right for Seaford to hold an Annual Fair and in 1302 Seaford was able to send an armed ship north to fight the troublesome Scots. In 1336 Seaford doubled its commitment to two ships and

By Kevin Gordon From a series of articles written

for St Leonard’s Church

Magazine and reprinted by

permission

From Prosperity to Ruin

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in 1338 a captured French ship was bought into the port. This prosperity and early successes against the French were short- lived, however. Unlike the East Sussex ports of Winchelsea, Rye and Pevensey, Seaford was never fortified; it had no town walls, no castle and no defensive towers. It was an easy target for raiders. In 1341 Seaford is described as being “damaged often by the assaults of the French with inhabitants wounded or slain.” Seaford increased its strength to five ships and 80 men (this must have been the majority of able men in the town) but to no avail. The Black Death struck in 1348 and by 1357 it was reported that: “The Town of Seaford has been for the most part burnt down and further devastated by pestilence and the calamities of war so that the townsmen have become so few that they can neither bear their burdens nor undertake the defence of the town”. It was at this time that the church was burnt down during a French raid and for many years it stood derelict. Many Seaford residents moved inland to the relative safety of Alfriston and took the rubble from the town with them to build new homes there. In 1360 James Archer was accused of looting building materials from Seaford and taking them to Alfriston and it is no coincidence that the over-large Alfriston church was built at this time. Next time you visit St Andrew’s on Alfriston Tye, take a good look at the walls – they were probably once part of St Leonard’s!

Next: The Church is Re-built ____________________________________________

A course of six sessions on the history of Seaford will be held at the

Museum on successive Tuesday evenings from April 29 to June 3 (7.30-9.30). The cost is £50 (£55 for non-members, to include a year’s membership). As the size of the group will be limited, early application is advised. Application forms are available from the Museum during the normal opening times.

Discover Seaford

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I MUST NOT forget a few old Seafordians I knew as a boy. The first one must be Mr Sumner, who lived in the top cottage in Hight Street, one of the old cottages that were bombed during the war and are now demolished. He was an old Naval pensioner and finished his time in the Revenue Cutters. He used to tell us boys some exciting yarns. He was 101 years and six months old when he died. Then there was Mr George Collwell, a carpenter, who lived in East Street. He was the first caretaker of the Albert Hall, right opposite his cottage. He had an old reed bank instrument ([this is thought to be some sort of an accordion, an instrument that contains ‘banks’ of reeds – Ed.] hanging on a wall in his cottage. He told me he used to play it in the old Seaford Band. This old man always wore a top hat and white apron. He was just turned 80 when he died. Next there were the two blacksmith brothers, Dick and George Woolgar, in Crouch Lane. Dick was the first town crier that I remember. George, known as ‘Clem’, took the Rising Sun and it was he who altered the name to the Cinque Ports Hotel. ‘Clem’ was a good singer and in great demand at concerts. There was also old T Woolgar. I do not know if they were related. He was generally known at ‘Old T-Pot’. He was the first one I remember to sweep the roads and light what few lamps there were. The last I remember of him was that he had what he called a school for little kiddies. Not that he taught them

who was born in

Seaford in January

1867 and left school

aged nine to go out to

work. He wrote his

memoirs in 1949

when he was 82. This is the last in a

series of edited extracts from his

recollections. The complete memoir is

preserved in the museum.

By Frederick William Pettitt

Characters of Old Seaford

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anything, but he amused them while their mothers did their work. Old Rodger came off Sutton Farm and was the last one to sweep the streets single-handed. He also had to go to the sewer outfall to turn it on or off. There were then a lot of Banks and Greens living in Seaford. The Banks seemed to be all related, but the Greens did not seem to be related at all. There were so many Greens that they had to have another name or you did not know which Green you were talking about. So we had the Herring Greens, Blucher Greens, Jowey Greens, Waterman Greens, Rugged Greens, Didler Greens, Lunar Greens, Grinerver Greens, and some I’ve probably overlooked!

________________________________________

A local character: ‘Dick’ Woolgar the Town Crier

RENE KING, who died aged 93 on January 25, worked for the benefit of the museum for many years. She joined the committee

of the Friends of Seaford Museum (precursor of today’s Museum and Heritage Society) in 1976 and was a truly active member. Besides continuing to be on the committee, she was treasurer for some years, the shop organiser and leader of the “Busy Bees”, the working group who made craft items for sale. Whenever there was work to be done – running a stall, making refreshments, booking speakers, cleaning or setting up new exhibits – she was always willing to lend a hand. As an honorary life member in later years she was able to do less, but she remained supportive and showed a keen interest in what was happening. Rene will be greatly missed and her contribution to the museum will be long remembered. Our deepest sympathy goes to her sons, their wives and to the grandchildren.

REALLY ‘BUSY BEE’

WILL BE MISSED

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WHO’S WHO AT THE MUSEUM

Trustees: Mr L Holland Miss B Williams, BA M. Hughes, M Phil; FSA; FRHis.S

Committee: Chairman Kay Turvey 895115 kay.turvey@uwclub.net

Vice-Chairman/Services Charles Painter 894573 Secretary Mike Wright 893623 Treasurer Reg Dove 894467 Public Liaison Mick Barrett 895715 Archive Co-ordinator Sue Sutton 896220 Acquisitions Berry Harper 423335 Sales Hazel Henderson 490318 Education/School visits Mandy Gordon 491707 kevingordon@tiscali.co.uk

Chronicler Kevin Gordon 491707 kevingordon@tiscali.co.uk

Heritage David Swaysland 872017 d.swaysland@btinternet.com

Curatorial advisor: Dr Ed Jarzembowski

Other Areas of Responsibility: Membership Secretary Reg Dove 894467 Computers Dorothy Nelson 892225 PA/Electrical John Bond 492795 Printing & Photographic David Fairhurst 491734 david.highbury@btinternet.com

Railway Ken Haysom 898272 Security/keys Charles Painter 894573 Special visits/groups/lectures Kay Turvey 895115 Housing records John Goodman 892580 Rota secretary Michael Staples 894893 michaelandmargret.staples @btinternet.com

The Editor, Committee and members of the Society wish to record their thanks and give credit to the Authors (where known) for all items published in this Magazine, but hereby disclaim any errors or omissions which may be contained therein. Martello Magazine is published By Seaford Museum and Heritage Society.

The SEAFORD MUSEUM & HERITAGE SOCIETY is a

Registered Charity (Nº 272854) and a Registered Museum

under the Museums & Galleries Commission (Nº 1497).

All enquiries to: Seaford Museum & Heritage Society, Martello Tower No 74, PO box 2132, The Esplanade

SEAFORD BN25 9BH 01323 898222

www.seafordmuseum.co.uk

e-mail: info@seafordmuseum.co.uk

WHO’S WHO AT THE MUSEUM

Hon. President: Mr L Holland Hon. Vice-Presidents: Miss B Williams, BA & Mr M. Hughes, M Phil; FSA; FRHis.S

Curatorial advisor: Dr Ed Jarzembowski

Committee: (01323) Chairman Kay Turvey 895115 kay.turvey@uwclub.net

Vice-Chmn/Heritage David Swaysland 872017 d.swaysland@btinternet.com Secretary Mike Wright 893623 mike.wright44@sky.com

Acquisitions Berry Harper 423335 berry@jmhonline.co.uk

Education Helen Roberts 892750 helen@norbs.com

Chronicler Kevin Gordon 491707 kevingordon@tiscali.co.uk

Housekeeping/Display audit Judith Marr 490707 themarrzone@yahoo.com

Treasurer/Services Paul Bowler 894553 plbseaford@aol.com Computers Richard Ford 895482 zoejford@hotmail.com

Archives: Gail Armstrong 893229 phil_armst@hotmail.com

Publicity: Marion Hutt 654499 marionhutt@yahoo.com Other Areas of Responsibility: Rota secretary Michael Staples 894893 michaelandmargret.

staples@btinternet.com

Web Master Mick Barrett 895715 mick@seaford-sussex.co.uk

Membership Secretary Reg Dove 894467 regdove@aol.com PA/Electrical/Video, etc John Bond 492795 Shop & Catering Hazel Henderson & Pauline Botting Security/keys Charles Painter 894573 Printing & Photographic David Fairhurst 491734 david.highbury@btinternet.com

The Society records its thanks and gives credit to the authors (where known) for all items published in this magazine, but hereby disclaims any errors or omissions which may be contained therein.

Martello Magazine is published by Seaford Museum and Heritage Society

SEAFORD MUSEUM & HERITAGE

SOCIETY is a Registered Charity (Nº 272864)

and a Registered Museum under the Museums

& Galleries Commission (Nº 1497).

All enquiries to: Seaford Museum & Heritage

Society, Martello Tower No 74, PO Box 2132, The Esplanade, SEAFORD BN25 9BH

Tel: (01323) 898222

www.seafordmuseum.co.uk

e-mail: info@seafordmuseum.co.uk